Page 46 of Heart of Thorns

Or should I saystalkaway.

Thorne nudges his elbow against my arm. “You want to explain that?”

He smells good.I gulp and ignore the tug in my lower belly.

“Ben is my ex.”

“Oh.” He seems surprised. His gaze moves across the restaurant and lands on Ben.

Everyone is staring at us.

Ben included.

“This is awkward,” I admit.

I try to pull my hand away, but Thorne’s fingers tighten against mine.

“What is? The way your ex, who just so happens to be my teammate, is staring at me like I’ve just stolen something that’s his?” He chuckles.

If I’m not mistaken, Thorne rather enjoys this.

I, however, do not.

I hiss between my teeth. “I amnothis.”

Thorne hums. “I suspect some animosity, grumpy cat. Please do tell. Who broke up with who?”

My cheeks warm at the thought of seeing Ben’s mouth on someone else’s when we were still very much together.

“I don’t like the look on your face,” Thorne notes.

“And I don’t like how everyone in this pizzeria is staring at us.” I lower my voice and angle myself toward him. “Do something.”

A cheeky grin appears. “Like what? Kiss you?”

I gasp. “What? No! I said no kissing.”

He chuckles quietly. “I was kidding. Though, it’d be fun to see the anger on Ben’s face afterward.”

True, butno.

“Should we sit or something?” I ask, desperate to get out of the spotlight.

Thorne, who suddenly seems nervous, nods curtly. “I guess.”

“What do you mean, you guess?” I whisper angrily. “You’re the one who is supposed to know what to do.”

Thorne begins tugging me toward a back booth full of football players and their girlfriends. I recognize a few of the girls but I’m not close enough to any of them to know their names.

“Who said I know what to do?” he asks. “You’re the one who’s been in a relationship before.”

From the outside, it probably seems like we’re just talking quietly to each other. But really, we’re arguing like an old married couple.

“So have you!” I argue.

Thorne stops me before getting any closer to his table full of friends. I zero in on the crease of confusion between his eyebrows.

“Says who?”

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